Eccentric-strap



(No Model.)

F. MERTSH-EIMER.

EGGENTRIO STRAP.

No. 557,687. Patented Apr. 7, 1896.

l'aueniri WW 5 m .3 a 2 AN DREW aoRAMM. PHOTO-umawAsmN GTDNJ] C llNiTEDSTATES FREDERICK MERTSHEIMER,

ATENT OFFICE.

OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

ECCENTRlC-STRAP.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 557,687, dated April '7,1896.

Application filed July 26, 1 8 9 5.

T 0 all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK MERTs- HEIMER, of Kansas City, county ofJackson, and State of Missouri, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Eccentric-Straps, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention has relation to the construction of eccentric-straps forsteam-engines and other machinery, and to the manner of lining the samewith Babbitt or othersoft metal for reducing friction, and of securingthe same therein. It consists in the peculiar construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed; and the objects are to increase the durability ofthe strap, to prevent undue wear of parts, and to provide for theconvenient refitting and relining of worn straps.

Eccentrics and eccentric-straps are usually made of cast-iron, and thetwo iron surfaces working together soon become worn, the ec centricwearing down and becoming reduced in diameter and the interior of thestrap wearing out and becoming enlarged, the result of which is lostmotion and ineflicient work; also, the parts wear out of true, wearingfaster at some points than at others. It becomes necessary, therefore,to turn down the eccentric and to close the strap and rebore the samefrom time to time. This, however, has its limits, as any materialreduction i n the size of the eccentric shortens its stroke and rendersit inadequate to perform the work required, so that ultimatelyit becomesnecessary to replace the worn parts with new ones of adequate size.These difficulties are largely overcome by my improved construction.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention and form apart of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side view of aneccentric with my improved strap applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an interiorface view or development of one-half of the strap, and Fig. 3 is asectional view illustrating a slight modification.

Referring to the drawings, A A designate the two complemental parts ofan eccentricstrap bolted together, as usual, one of said parts beingeither formed on or adapted to be separably connected with theeccentric-rod, as heretofore.

The strap as a whole, being cast, bored out, or otherwise formed tofitt-he eccentric in con- Serial No. 557,190. (No model.)

nect-ion with which it is to be used, is formed interiorly with a grooveor channel 1 slightly wider at the bottom than at the top, and in thebottom of this groove I form two narrow grooves or channels 2 2, alsoslightly wider at the bottom. than at the top, leaving between the two adovetail rib 3, all as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The central rib 3 isdivided at intervals by notches or dividing-spaces 4, which preferablyextend obliquely across and are alternately inclined in oppositedirections, as indicated at the left hand of Fig. 2. These notches ordividing-spaces are also wider at the bottom than at the top, asindicatedby broken lines in Fig. 1. The strap thus formed is to befilled or lined with fine Babbitt metal 5, which is securely held inplace by reason of the form of the grooves or channels 1 2, and it isfurther secured and prevented from turning in the strap by reason of thenotches 4: formed in the central rib The strap thus constructed isconveniently filled or lined by placing it on a suitable mandrel, theeccentric itself being preferably used for this purpose, the strap thusforming a mold into which the molten metal is east through a mouth oropening 0 formed for this purpose.

Unless the Babbittmetal lining be confined within the'strap it will, byreason of its softness and ductility, flow out laterally under thepressure applied by the operation of heavy machinery. This is guardedagainst and prevented by the side walls '7 7 of the groove or channel 1,which, as already indicated and as shown in Fig. l, closely fit theperimeter of the eccentric and effectually prevent any lateral flow,thus rendering distortion under pressure impossible, and consequentlyimproving the durability of the strap.

lVhen, finally, the parts become worn to an extentto produce lost motionor to impair the efficiency of the device, the eccentric and strap aretrued up as usual, the Babbitt lining being first melted out andafterward recast.

\Vhile I have described the invention with reference to its applicationto eccentricst-raps, it is manifest that it is applicable also toconnecting-rods and other couplings, and I do not wish, therefore, to beunderstood as limiting myself in the matter of its application or use.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 3 I show the rib 3 formed withopenings 4: therethrough instead of the notches 4 shown in Figs. 1 and2.

interiorly with a circumferential groove or channel, increasing in widthtoward the bottom, two circumferential grooves or channels formed insaid first-named groove also increasing in width toward the bottom,forming between the two a dovetail rib, said rib having transverseopenings at intervals.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand this 2d day of July, 1895,in the presence of two attesting witnesses.

FREDERICK MERTSHEIMER.

,Vitnesses E. B. Coons, C. R. HUGHES.

